by Kieran Mather
The immediate future of Glasgow Rangers, or “Newco” as you may have heard them referred to recently will be decided on 4th July. Not by a committee or a board but by the other clubs in the Scottish Premier League. This may be democratic, but is it fair? Motherwell passed on the decision and allowed their fans to vote. Ok, I get the logic, it’s their team, it’s the league they play in so let them decide. But is it really just that the fate of another club could be decided partially by a set of fans?
No disrespect to Motherwell fans out there but they will not all understand the implications of demoting Rangers to the Scottish Third Division; what damage that will have on revenue for all SPL teams, what Sky is prepared to put back in. The only advantage I can see is that the 2nd spot in the league is wide open and could lead to Champion’s League football. It’s a tough call and personally I would spoil my ballot paper with a note to those in charge – “Strap a pair on”
It’s emerged slowly over the last few days though who is doing what. Rangers in order to be allowed back into the SPL need a majority of 8-4 (I have no idea why this isn’t 7-5) but if the word of every SPL club and chairman can be trusted then Rangers’ fans will have resigned themselves to playing in the Third tier of Scottish football despite winning over 50 league titles. Scottish clubs Aberdeen, St Johnstone and Inverness CT were the latest to state they will vote against the “Newco” along with Dundee United, Hearts and Hibernian. I would also strongly suspect the fans’ vote at Motherwell will go against Rangers adding up to 7 clubs voting no.
Celtic haven’t given any indication as to where they are going but as much as the fans would detest the thought the board might yet fight to save their bitter rivals as it is undoubtedly in Celtic’s interest to keep Rangers in the division.
So last week’s warning shot fired by Charles Green hasn’t unsettled anyone at all. The story he managed to get into the papers was that he would buy English League 1 club Bury and rename and locate them with the newly created Bury Rangers playing at Ibrox against the likes of Crawley Town, Shrewsbury and Yeovil. This hasn’t had the intended effect or left an impression with other SPL clubs and it appears they would happily watch them go. It was an idle threat more to the point but the idea was to make other clubs think what it would be like without Rangers, that they could be successful anywhere and they didn’t need the SPL. It is in fact the other way round.
It looks like Green’s bluff has been called and the famous club the consortium took over with the 50,000 capacity stadium, talented players, array of silverware and a fan base that stretches the length of Britain could well be in the Iron Bru Scottish Third Division.
It’s very hard to venture a guess at what the future holds for Rangers, the only thing we’re certain of is the fans will still flock to sing along to Roy Orbison’s “Penny Arcade” and they’ll sing it louder than ever. We know this for certain and little more. We also know this isn’t their fault, the fans aren’t the cause of this but it is them who are being punished. The players are using the “Newco” situation to walk out of their contracts, the whole administration process cut a lot of backroom staff out of a job, not many people are left at Ibrox or Murray Park who was there when Craig White first took over (incidentally the Scottish authorities are now investigating his purchase of the club.) The only constants are the fans and so far Ally McCoist who is now in charge of a sinking ship.
Nobody could have predicted what happened in Glasgow last season; the news that emerged on February 14th shocked football. Scottish football holds a very firm and consistent record at dealing with team’s financial foul play and misconduct and this looks to be upheld next week.
Whatever happens on 4th July, this won’t be the end of the whole saga I’m sure. They’ll be talk of an appeal either way but the one thing Rangers as a club need is an end to this whole sorry situation.
“No disrespect to Motherwell fans out there but they will not all understand the implications of demoting Rangers to the Scottish Third Division”
Get your facts Rangers 1872 no longer exist, No club has been demoted,The new club with 2 players is looking for a new leagu to play in. The SPL have turned them down so the SFL next on the begging list
The 8-4 majority was only put in place for this event, so Rangers were lucky it didn’t need the normal 11-1 majority to get anything done in the SPL. That’s something that Rangers and Celtic forced upon the other teams on the setup of the SPL, to make sure those two could veto any decision even if ALL the other clubs were against it.
Another thing is that I don’t remember many jobs being culled at Ibrox, this wasn’t a normal administration. No players were released to save funds, and the 75% wage cut the players took was with the intention that the non-playing staff would be kept on and paid.
Ha ha ha ha the cheek of it all. Right the way through this debacle, no matter who was in to buy Rangers, it was the same old bully boy tactics, If you don’t vote for us we would all die as clubs. Didn’t seem that way in the eighties when two wee teams from the north east consistently wiped you off the park, seems to me the game was healthier then, especially it has come to light the years of cheating from the mighty GERS. Not so mighty now eh?
It was only 5 years ago you and the other half of Glasgow were quite happily prepared to go down South and leave us without you, you said we would be fine without you, we never disbelieved you, only guess what, England didn’t want you, they never did and never will, because in their eyes you are the same wee provincial team you see the rest of us as, how ironic it is then that we now toll the bell that sounds your demise.
The author is correct in intimating that the vote relates to Rangers. Anyone telling themselves that Rangers FC no longer exists is truly deluded, Declan.
The corporate entity behind Rangers FC are in administration (not yet liquidated, remember?), though Rangers FC, the Worlds Most Successful Club, who play in royal blue at Ibrox Stadium to 50,000 fans, still exist. They will always exist.
Only a fool or an embittered Celtic fan would think anything else…
Dear Jorg,
They are liquidated, only the formalities remain, we will see how many of your loyal 50,000 fans are there in 2 years.
Your attitude is exactly why we all voted you down, why does everything revolve around Celtic, considering they have not even voted no, it’s the rest of us ” FOOLS ” that have done for you.
As a proud Scotsman I am absolutely disgusted at this article! It’s “Irn” Bru, not “Iron” Bru!
You are right, there should be harsh punishment handed out to these cul;prits, absolutley without question, in fact let me say the full force of the Law should be piled upon them. But not the fans, not the faithful average supporter.
Yes for 140 years they have flocked to their ground in support of their team, just like any other supporter of any other team. In fact did your mummy or daddy come out to watch ypou play inthe school team, Boys Brigade, Juvenile/Youth games? That is what teh people of Scotland do every other Satyrday/Sunday and maybe during the week. It is part of our culture, part of the fabric of what we are and you the self righteous wish to destroy this? What gives you the right to take this away? In your venom you are cutting off your nose, or can’t you see that far?
Go ahead, stick the knife in and turn it a few times, it won’t make any difference because in spite of your bile there will always be a Rangers FC, even if it is in the Third Division. And guess what? Those teams we will play every week will love coming to our Stadium playing in front of 50,000 fans and benefiting from our purse. In turn their own game will improve as they play against a better team.The same will happen in each league we play in until we come back to teh SPL and takle care of you lot who assassinated us.
You think you have a chance of getting into Europe? ha! CFC will win the league for the next few yeras but their own standard of play will drop through lack of competition and a sa result they won’t get past the first round resulting in the co-efficient limiting entry to one Scottish team.
Rangers Football Club and their supporters under any name will play where we need to and when your time comes, which it will, we will walk by and say “I am number 12”
Charlie, It’s not the fans that were at fault you are correct, we do not and never have thought it was your fault, and the vast majority of us, believe it or not, actually feel for you, but you can’t keep blaming others, it’s not us that have assassinated you, it was your own directors who have done this, or were we in charge of the purse strings in the heydays at Ibrox.
Look at the facts, if this were happening to any other club, believe me you would all be asking for their heads
The boards of ALL other SPL clubs (including Motherwell) have carefully considered the ramifications of placing money ahead of sporting integrity. So far, 6 of the 12 clubs involved have indicated they value sporting integrity more than money, and want a club which has been cheating them for at least ten years, to be punished without fear or favour. ALL of the liquidated clubs problems were created by the actions of the clubs management over a period of many years — not just a few months.
Rangers FC have now been liquidated and no longer exist, but the Newco club and many of its fans are resorting to threats of boycotts, and predicting the demise of Scottish football unless they’re allowed automatic entry into the SPL, as if nothing has happened. However, there’s been a groundswell of public opinion among other clubs fans, who are demanding that the Newco be treated exactly as any other club would be, in similar circumstances.
This doesn’t sit well with many of the deceased clubs fans, whose continued arrogance is displayed by their “We are the people” and “Nobody likes us and we don’t care” claims. But these same fans are only now belatedly realising that there’s a substantial downside to these bellicose claims……You reap what you sow…..
What a load of tosh, Scottish football is in its current predicament because of rangers operating with other peoples money, inflating the cost of players. Scottish football couldn’t continue down the road it was going, finally the other clubs are looking beyond the end of their nose and thinking about the future of te game.
Rangers now have an opportunity to pay their penance and work their way back up through the league and if they manage to do so then fair dues, but the only way for redemption in the eyes of the average fan is div 3, no special treatment.
If sky pull the plug then so be it, football needs to start living within is means, we can’t keep looking at the unsustainable model tht is the EPL. The clubs have started and there are more youngsters coming through the ranks now, we have to realize we are a stepping stone league and everyone’s aim including Celtic should be to raise revenue y nurturing young talent and selling them on for max dollar. If Celtic lose victor, izaguire and ki over the summer to large transfer fees then that’s marvelous as we’ve made a substantial profit in a short period of time.
Amen Brenden